i wasn't told to go with the pope anyway you know that would spoil it for you to any. syrian president bashar that speaks exclusively to r.t. about he's on his country's future saying he is not a western puppet and is ready to die in syria. iraq obama slaps new sanctions on iran and one of these first foreign policy decisions since for you watch. libya towers itself as a tourist destination just weeks after a deadly siege of clashes in the town of bani walid. this is going to live from moscow eleven am in the russian capital i'm marina

joshie now the syrian president has predicted a global catastrophe should western states intervene in his country in an exclusive interview with r t bashar assad says he's not a western poppet and a vow to live and die in syria our correspondent in the region paula sleazier has the details. in this exclusive interview with r t the syrian president bashar assad stressed the point that he will remain in syria he said it was only for the syrian people to decide his fate he said that he was not a puppet of the west and you have the situation where the west creates enemies that essentially they are motivated by the self interests he is not the target but he did warn that these self interests of the waste lead to foreign intervention which ultimately has a domino effect he also made the point that at the moment there is no civil war in syria he said the situation was such that you had these factions fighting they were being funded by the west he called them terrorists and he said that these

terrorists coming from abroad are the biggest problem facing syria today the syrian president said that the majority of arab states supported syria but that they were too frightened to admit this publicly and this is largely because of their interest in petro dollars but he was assured of their support at least privately on the topic of turkey he did say that there was no war no conflict between the syrian people and the turkish people that the disagreements were on a government level but that to this in he had requested that the turkish government set up a committee to investigate what was happening on the ground and this was in reference to shells that have in the past been fired from syrian territory and landed on the turkish side and he said that this response had not been made positively he did say that he believed that editor gann was in support of a muslim brotherhood power base in the region and because this would help him entrenched his own support within both turkey and elsewhere on the topic of iran he

said that both countries have friendly relations dating back to nine hundred seventy nine that iran is a close ally of syria and that they support each other's cause but when it came to western powers here he spoke again about the involvement of wisdom powers that it was the self interests that motivated them in terms of what. as happening in this side syria he said that he was not a puppet of the west he said that what the wasted was that it used its own self interest which then ultimately resulted in some kind of domino effect linked to foreign intervention wasn't a target there wasn't a problem you know that with all its created anyways it was the communism that it became if it became for promising for different reasons and now they want to create a new enemy because of the problem with the president so he has to leave first of all you have to focus on the real problem with our time listening to what they say he said that he didn't have any regrets although he did make the point that the

conflict is still ongoing on the ground and as such it's a little bit too soon to really step back and properly address it so again no regrets but too soon to judge the situation if today was fifteenth of march two thousand and eleven that's when the protest started to escalate and grow what would you do differently what i would do or do what i did exactly very simple for exactly the thing just to ask different parties to for to have dialogue and to stand against the terrorist group but i always thought if you didn't thought it because there was a little more but within those markets you had militants who thought that putting the civilians. at the same time maybe on the tactical level you could have done something different but as president to not think you could think that decision or strategic level which is different in essence the point being made by the syrian president bashar assad is that his government was fighting a legitimate cause that what is happening in syria today is foreign intervention

that is attempting to destabilize the situation and that he is taking his cue from the syrian people. r.t. sophie shevardnadze who spoke to the embattled president in damascus shared her views on the situation in syria and president asad. the thing that really mark me the most is how really how much more complicated situation insight series that from what we see in the media because i talk to people yes the country is divided and even the people who didn't like us before this conflict started are now so scared that fundamentalists will come to our fundamentalists who are fighting on the side of the free syrian army and syrian people are not about that and this is the only secular our country that had a lot of different religious groups always living in peace with each other whether it's sunni or shia or always or christians so there are really scared that if the army will fall apart and then you know you'd have this extremist muslims coming to

them and asking them to basically be just like them so it's not just about assad i think people feel like whether he goes or stays. it's only can get worse if it goes because it will get i mean that the terror attacks will continue and the fundamentalists will come to power so they're very scared of that and you can see the full exclusive interview with syria's president bashar assad in twenty minutes here on our t.v. it's also available any time on our website. i'm so you know i mean. i mean do you feel you know. student. if there are two exclusive why do you through sunday on our to our to dot com now just days after his reelection to the white house brock obama has imposed new sanctions against iran this comes as the pentagon has revealed that iranian warplanes driver should down a u.s. drone flying near iran's border last week are going to count has more. president

obama's first moves after he won reelection have pretty much indicated that in the next four years he will aggressively pursue the idea of the u.s. being the world police they've ministration as impose financial sanctions against the iranian officials will the u.s. blames for jamming satellite broadcast and blocking internet access any rain that comes on top of a whole bunch of other sanctions that have been put in place by the u.s. which proved to be crippling for the iranian economy and the population there is suffering a great deal because of that while campaigning president obama indicated that he didn't want to go to war with iran but that he would continue the sanctions policy and that's what he's doing we've heard reports that the obama administration might engage in direct talks with iran at some point but there has been no confirmation of that. threatens to attack iran and the u.s. appears to be stopping them some argue that the u.s. might be playing a good cop bad cop diplomatic game there anyway the administration's strategy appears to be to make iran so desperate that they would agree to anything but

sanctioning iran was probably not president obama's very first move after winning this election government officials here say the said on wednesday a u.s. drone strike targeted a group of al qaida militants in yemen and the president had to authorize that and possibly he did that within hours after his reelection the use of drones has been highly controversial it's quite clear not everybody hit by those drones are terrorists and the administration so far has been far from transparent on how they pick the targets and basically authorize executions overseas the u.n. has raised concerns about the legality of such executions there has been a lot of purchases and especially after numerous reports of civilian deaths in the meantime this administration is said to rely on drones more and more and other drone related story this week the pentagon said the reunion military had fired upon but they did not hit a u.s. drone flying close to the pentagon claimed the drone was there on their

surveillance mission so looking at some of president obama's first moves after reelection one could say he takes the idea of america being the world police very seriously but the question is who's going to hold that world police itself accountable. now the u.s. has so far failed to use the bargaining opportunity the sanctions potentially have says reza marashi research director at the national iranian american council. you can continue to ramp up the sanctions on iran but sanctions ostensibly are supposed to provide leverage at the negotiating table if you're not using them as a negotiating chip when you're at the negotiating table then all they are is a blunt instrument the ends up adversely affecting the lives of innocent iranian people this is the first instance in which we've seen obama move forward on sanctions and it remains to be seen whether or not he doubles down on the diplomatic track of his policy to try to find a peaceful solution to the crisis but we haven't seen to date tangible evidence of

these sanctions causing the iranian government to change strategic calculus on its regional policies or on more specifically its nuclear policy and that's supposed to be the goal that's the metric of success that both the bush administration and the obama administration have defined seen the obama administration really ramp up the amount of drone usage you know whether it is yemen or pakistan or even today we saw a report of the iranian government shooting at an american drone that was off of its coast so we're in uncharted waters when it comes to policy american policy related to drones and until we have some rules to this game that the international community can abide by you know playing off the same script that it increases the likelihood of a conflict that the united states and the international community i think would independently seek to avoid coming out it's all in the name for one u.s. citizen still. we find out how what you are calling a link to criminal activity and

a bomb argue from entering your own country. twenty three years since the fall of the berlin wall week zammit the changes the years have brought to germany the details after this break. i never thought i could earn a living that's my. natalee issue of oil is the norm or should test small arms so those photos to machine building cloned not obvious lost count of all the weapons she's fired over the past twelve years. i got so used to it sometimes my friends ask me to join them at the rifle range and i say no wait i'm so tired of shooting. the planet's history goes from making firearms during world war two to ballistic missiles from nuclear submarines during the cold war the bulk of the soviet industry was moved here in the 1940's to flee the advancing germans cells here also

became the heart of soviet military production closed off to foreigners for hoffa's century it thrived on the massive moods of the soviet military when the u.s.s.r. collapsed but life here was shaken to the core but some adapted to better than others. this is the year old truck factory bush's number one truck made for girls a look at how well the workplace is organized everything's done to make sure the workers don't waste time waiting there was so production is booming the factory has largely managed to get on to civil rails these giants are sold around the globe hit a base a brand new be no way to be delivered to acquire seventy trucks like this one roll up the bronx conveyor belt every day look about this things that absolutely huge. well i'm no formula one pilot but hopefully if i can get up that. what can go

far to drive. whoa that was fun perhaps i should get one of these to trouble to walk every morning what's with the cost of about forty thousand dollars i should start saving my.

mission creep going to take three days for charges free. range free. three stooges free. food free board video for your media projects a free media dog r.t. dot com. what you guys are coming to life from moscow while the libyan town of bani walid is still struggling to heal the scars of the siege which took place less than a month ago levy is being promoted as a new travel hotspot r.t. sarah ferguson visited the world travel market in london to find out why tour operators remain silent on the tragedy we're here at the world's top the muck of

the trade say taking place in london or people can come and select the holiday inspiration of not scouts an exotic spot for a honeymoon a one country you probably wouldn't expect to see being touted as a tourist destination and that's libya the places where the tourist interesting to the scientists are going to go inside so it's completely safe going to into you that's got to be saved more than even tones to big domes like london or my new york butt. there somewhere that's not mentioned in the guide bani walid a desert town this remain loyal to formulate a candidate that he is just a few hours dry southeast of the traditional tourist destination aaa but it's a world away from the safe environment the two guides are pitching. the town's become the scene of some of the fiercest fighting since the libyan uprising last year but despite reports of indiscriminate shelling and gas attacks on the local population at the hands of the libyan army there's been an almost total media

blackout in the. r.t. ran the story for more than a fortnight before anyone else picked it up back in london and despite libya being showcased it seems that bani walid has once again being conveniently left out the conversation when i saw this. it was of course with surprise and i came. back of the situation at the moment in libya and if we have so many people it means our situation is that it becoming more stable and we can think for next season to do something with libya and it's a wonderful country so we are. good about what's happening at the moment. but do you mean what's happened was being happening there's been fighting do you know about that no we went to confront the tour operator i saw you speaking some people eat telling them about what's been happening in bani walid at the moment. this is. what it's done for the future. because

it was deeply disturbing is that despite a growing body of evidence about crimes against civilians and increasingly vocal concerns from human rights organizations the same media and government remain resolutely silent they've got to sort of package wish as a success it's very important for nato so we have been of these countries have been liberated in inverted commas as great places to go great places to invest and the reality for the everyday person in these countries is a living hell really pick up one of the travel information and you will be given reasons to visit libya and undoubtedly there are many there's a concerning silence in a case by the u.k. media a seeming refusal to talk. about what's been happening in places like bani walid the reality is that the new government is struggling to control its militias and bridge the divides that remain in the country but none of that you're going to read

about in a. london. leading bahraini human rights activist is to await his fate the trial of the builder job has been under arrest since july will resume in a month's time after thursday's hearings find out more by logging on to our team. and a new frontier astronomers discover a planet seven times the size of earth which could support human life form that online. now american living and working in qatar has been barred from traveling home to visit his sick mother saadiq along who is an air force veteran has been placed on a federal no fly list without explanation adams will tani from the council of american islamic relations believes his muslim name makes him an undesirable person in the united states. there is no indication of any reason for him to be on this no fly list he has never been convicted of any criminal activity he has served his

country for ten years in the u.s. air force and he has indicated that there is nothing he can think of that would link him to anything criminal in the nature you know there are cases kerry has dealt with in the past of individuals who were placed on a no fly list sometimes it just has to do with the name their name may sound like someone who was affiliated with criminal activities or or something of the sort we've never really been given answers by the f.b.i. and the department of homeland security so we're not one hundred percent sure it's kind of speculation at this point but nevertheless you know he's indicated that he is a law abiding u.s. citizen and really cannot think of anything that would prevent him from travel. now the fall of the berlin wall and of amber of the nine exactly twenty three years ago symbolize the aunt of the cold war the day will be marked by memorial ceremonies across germany but as marines and i stand out reports even two decades after the fall divisions still remain. made in love

a belly produced in western germany by a choreographer from the former d.d.r. in the eighty's when one nation was riven into stuff and fled what he saw as a prison for the promise of freedom. we artists needed inspiration who didn't have the chance to see the outside world that were telling us in the world waits roots in the west when we were different what emotional genuine and that. he never came back because even twenty years after the fall of the berlin wall the east is still locked in the dark past. soviet era infrastructure derailed never really adapting to the capitalist reality reunification it turns out was more annexation what happened politically in the way of international law is that west germany became bigger if they would have taken the chance in that time to say we abolish both germany as we abolish the west of germany and we abolish the eastern

region in the east germany and we make something new we make a new germany this might have been much better the forging of one nation was the end of another this is all that remains from a once large power plant in the village of man that stein in eastern germany it used to generate electricity for railroads and trams shortly after reunification the plant was shut down as happened with most industry in the former g.d.r. abandoned buildings like this old and deliberate dated are still scattered all across the east here silent reminders of the former republics power the two decades following the reunification so a million and a half had west those two youngsters live in an aging population behind slowly that might be changing since two thousand and one the migration numbers are declining and in two thousand and eleven we had for the first time nort not more out migrants than in migrants these people are living breathing statistics they all

see the nickname for born easterners and they've returned home and everybody want to come but sometimes opportunity is not given it's a responsibility of the political to encourage people to stay here to give them like a maybe. opportunity to earn money but they're using eastern greed and western guile to help themselves probably they're all had similar problems like now . where do i find the flour or if i want to buy a whole lot of these kind of stuff so the next project was that we build a website where we try to collect all the information but the challenge is the tougher to overcome maybe unspoken the water between their d.v.r. and us germany was one of the hottest across in the world this brown path is what used to be a minefield and imposing construction with c.c.t.v. cameras barbed wire fences and watchtowers every one of the kilometers it was all

taken away off to reunion this place is now a museum but while there was a may have become part of history division remains the boundary in some people's minds is as solid as ever and until these barrier falls through reunification will remain just an illusion or if an ocean r.t. report in from germany and in just a few minutes we'll talk exclusively to syrian president bashar asad now as it asks what he thinks is next for his country and ongoing conflicts and threats of foreign intervention. with. science technology innovation all the developments around russia we've got the future covered.

download the official application to self choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorites from alzheimer's t.v. is not required to watch on t.v. all you need is your mobile device to watch r.t. any time of the. culture is that so much as i can wish of course he's right on it again so here is a rock obama won a decisive victory returning him to the white house for another four years but it counts for this victory was it a well run campaign in changing that. theory and maybe. maybe ophelia and affidavits again but incident but shar al assad did an artsy exclusive friday through sunday on r.t. and r.t. dot com. on an

assault rifle. i shoot disappointment. columns blame all snow. on the road fadia feel free to make use of the one who can use the trigger on the most reliable gun of the twentieth century. legend. on cold lush make off. resistance is not of politics but a culture. is couldn't dance. on its own.

cultures of resistance among them are to. plug because. they both. live. thanks.

president bashar al assad of syria thank you very much for talking to our teacher day i was going to ask it's so you know many people work in state year ago that you wouldn't make it this far but yet again we're sitting in the newly renovated presidential palace and recording this interview who exactly is your enemy at this point by any means terrorism instability in syria this was or any talk about people it's not about. who is not about. leaving it's supposed to contribute safe or not. but we've been fighting as. you know i've been here for the last two days and i had a chance to talk to a couple of people from damascus some of them say that whether you stay or go doesn't really matter at this point anymore what do you say to that i think for the president to stay or to leave is a popular spot personally and the only way to define this.

through the ballot boxes so you thought about what we hear about what we get through that box and that box with any president to still leave very simply i think what they meant was that at this point you are not the target anymore syria is it wasn't a target there wasn't a problem you were in you know the with all it's created enemies it was communism but it became. it became for promising for different reasons and now they want to create a new enemy but the problem is the president so he has to be first of all you have to focus on the real problem with our time listening to what they say but do you personally believe still believe that you are the only man who can hold syria together. and they only meant and what the world calls a civil war. we have to look at it from to the first aspect is the constitution and

i have my alternative through the constitution according. to the constitution i have to be able to solve the problem but if if we mean it that you will i don't have any other syrian who can be president no any student could be president we have many syrians was eligible to be in that. position you cannot. link the whole country only to one person always but you are fighting for your country do you believe that you are the man who can put an end to the conflict and restore peace i have to be the man who came to that and i hope so but it's not about the power of the president it's about the whole society i have to be precise about this president cannot do anything without institutions and with the. support of the people so the fight now is not president's fight the syrians fight every syrian is involved in defending his country no it is a lot of civilians are dying as well.